IF YOUR idea of a chimney sweep is a cheeky chappy, with twirling brushes and a blackened face, well you mightn't be that far off the mark - except for the broom that is!

Highlands resident Conor McCabe has been a Master Chimney Sweep for four years and is used to the 'Mary Poppins' comparisons, and takes them all with a pinch of soot!

'Gone are the days of the spiky brooms and we definitely don't send four-year-old boys up the chimney to clean them,' says Conor with a laugh.

' Technology has moved on quite a bit and whilst I might get filthy, there's no trail of destruction left in the house anymore - it's all very clean!'

Conor became a sweep after he was looking for one himself and realised there was a need for one in Drogheda.

'I had been working for a hire company, and with the down-turn, I needed to find something new to do,' says Conor, who has lived in Highlands for ten years with his wife Jillian, a nurse in the Lourdes, and his daughters Moya (10) and Maebh (5).

'I got proper training, and a lot of my work is also preventing chimney fires, and carbon monoxide poisoning.

'Most people don't call me until there is a problem though and the rest is all repeat business.'

Conor and his family have enjoyed their decade in HIghlands, as long as the estate has been there.

'We were some of the first families to move in, and it's great to have watched the children all grow up together,' he says.

'You hear about childhood obesity these days, but there's none of that in our estate, as they all stay out playing until they are dragged in for bed!'

He also says there is a great sense of community spirit, and they don't really lack anything in the estate.

'We don't really need shops or anything, else as we have the shopping centre, swimming pool and restaurants and beautiful walks by the river nearby,' he adds.

'It's no wonder those who have moved in ten years ago are still here - we have it all in Highlands.'